Industrial Collaborators

The National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) and its future
successor, NSLS-II, can help companies large and small solve
research and manufacturing problems, generate new technologies
and products, and stay competitive. The Photon Sciences Directorate would like to encourage
greater use of its facilities by industrial researchers and
facilitate collaborations between industry and NSLS staff, as
well as government and academic institutions.

Synchrotron Use by Industry

What is a synchrotron?

A synchrotron light source is a large machine that produces intense
beams of infrared, ultraviolet, and x-ray light for the study of
substances at very small scales, from looking at the molecular structure
of proteins to probing the electronic properties of the next generation
of computer-chip materials.

More specifically, a synchrotron is a large ring-shaped particle
accelerator in which electrons are energized to velocities very near the
speed of light. Appearing circular from above, a synchrotron actually
consists of many short, straight sections connected by large magnets. As
the electrons travel from one straight section to the next – their path
bent by the magnets – they emit light, from infrared rays to extremely
strong x-rays, depending on the magnet’s strength. This is the
phenomenon of synchrotron radiation.

In the newest “third-generation” synchrotrons, magnet-based devices
can be inserted into the straight sections, manipulating the electrons’
movement in ways that cause them to emit even more intense light than
the bending magnets.

The light is collected and directed down pipe-like “beamlines” to
research endstations, where scientists can then use it to study many
kinds of material samples, from cells to semiconductors. By analyzing
how the samples respond to the light, scientists can discover new and
valuable information about the samples’ molecular structures and their
electronic and magnetic properties.

Synchrotron facilities can accommodate many scientists at once,
performing many types of research at once. The existing NSLS has 59
beamlines; NSLS-II will have more than 60.

For more information on NSLS, take our
online tour or
check out our history
page.

Why use a synchrotron light source?

NSLS and NSLS-II may be able to assist your company in ways that you
never knew were possible – and, ultimately, help you become more
innovative, competitive, and profitable.

Performing experiments at a synchrotron facility – using the unique
properties of synchrotron light – can be incredibly useful and
beneficial to commercial entities from a variety of industries, from
biotechnology to renewable energy, from microelectronics to
pharmaceuticals.

The quality and strength of synchrotron light cannot be produced by
conventional sources of light. Using synchrotron light, scientists can
unearth details at the micro and sub-micro levels and watch, in real
time, chemical and electronic processes that take place at the atomic
scale. With the commissioning of NSLS-II, even nanoscale details will
soon be accessible. Peering this far into materials is not possible in
“regular” laboratories.

The unique tools, research techniques, and support offered at NSLS
and, soon, NSLS-II, may be ideal for industrial scientists and
researchers who would like to find solutions to scientific or
engineering problems faced in their own laboratories, broaden their
research interests, and enhance their current research programs.

In short, synchrotron-based research offers these key advantages:

Industrial researchers have access to a wide selection of
instrumentation, an array of research techniques, and the support of an
expert staff.

Synchrotron light can yield information at the atomic
level, yet, with suitable precautions, is a non-destructive way of
studying sensitive materials, such as cells.

Synchrotron research is
cutting edge. NSLS-II will be the most powerful synchrotron light source
over a broad range of energies, opening doors to new discoveries and, as
a result, new technologies.

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical,
biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security.
Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry
and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven
Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by the Research Foundation for the State
University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory
facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and technology organization.